HALLIBURTON, organizational problems - Essay Example

Success depended on its ability to deliver on what it charged and this had impressed the United States Military and its other clients. No one appeared to mind Halliburton overcharging if the work that it delivered could keep the troops happy when they were far from home. However, within the recent past allegations of unethical conduct, overcharging, kickbacks and political influence peddling have marred the image of this company which still wins awards for performance in its industry. This essay presents a discussion about the ethical and organizational problems that confront Halliburton Energy Services.

Halliburton Energy Services is a multinational corporation with operations in 70 countries of the world (NationMaster.com, 2005, “Halliburton Energy Services”). The group provides technical products and services for oil and gas production and exploration. Revenues of Halliburton Energy Services were in excess of US$ 15 billion in 2007 and it employs nearly 51,000 people worldwide (Halliburton, 2007, pp. 2 – 5). In 2007, its revenue grew by 18 % year-over-year and about 50 % of the total revenue was from outside North America.

More than 100 nationalities work with Halliburton Energy Services Inc with most of the employees working in their home countries. This firm has an old history and it began operations in 1919 when Mr. and Mrs. Erle P. Halliburton started the firm and found work cementing oil wells in Burkburnett, Texas. The company was later to move to Ardmore, Oklahoma and then to Duncan, Oklahoma before becoming listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1948. The major spheres of activities for Halliburton involve providing technical products and services for oil and gas exploration and production, handled by its Energy Services Group.

However, Halliburton’s major subsidiary KBR, or Brown & Roots was a major construction company of refineries, oil fields, pipelines, and chemical plants (Briody,